THE parents of a teenager killed in Turkey have been forced to abandon legal action over her death at a resort.

THE parents of a teenager killed in Turkey have been forced to abandon legal action over her death at a resort.

Sue and Willie Lavill had just a year from the date of their daughter Kayleigh's death to take their case through the Turkish courts, and the time limit expired on the first anniversary of the tragedy on October 2.

The devastated couple, who turned down a #95,000 compensation offer to fight for justice, only discovered the limit existed weeks before the deadline and could not make enough progress in time.

"It is disgusting we cannot take the Turkish authorities to court," Mrs Lavill said. "We knew nothing of this time frame until our solicitor wrote to us a few weeks ago. We wanted justice for Kayleigh, but now we have been left with nothing."

The couple, from Lydd Croft, Castle Vale, wanted to sue the authorities in the resort of Gumbet, where 17-year-old Kayleigh died.

The former Castle Vale Performing Arts College student was on holiday with her aunt, Sonya Lavill. Hampered by heavy rain and in total darkness, she unwittingly stepped into an open flood tunnel which ran across a road, and drowned.

The tunnel has since been covered over to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again.

"Kayleigh did not kill herself, she was not ill - the road caused her death," Mrs Lavill said. "It should not have taken my daughter's death to trigger this safety work.

"We have not had a word of apology from the Turkish authorities and little help from the Foreign Office."

Kayleigh's parents, 16-year-old sister, Kirsty, and her brother, Thomas, aged 14, marked the anniversary of her death quietly at home.

The teenager worked as a glass collector at Jaguar Sports and Social Club, in Chester Road, after leaving school.

She was described by friends as "17 going on 30" because of her mature attitude to life.